Top 5 Cryptocurrencies by Market Cap

Bitcoin, the leading digital currency by market capitalization, has grown in value by more than 10 times at certain points over the past year, but it has also seen significant plunges in value. Still, a number of cryptocurrencies have managed to come out on top. (See also: Bitcoin Price Takes Backstage as Altcoins Rally.)

To say that 2017/2018 has been a big year for digital currencies would not begin to do the industry justice. In the span of just months, digital currencies skyrocketed in value, interest, and number, only to see their values plummet once again, before leveling off. There are new digital currencies being launched to investors every week, and a hoard of blockchain-related startups have followed in their footsteps, often bolstered by major fundraising efforts through ICOs.

In the world of virtual currencies, fortunes tend to move up and down quickly. The space is dominated by volatility above many other factors. These are the largest digital currencies by market cap as of mid-July 2018.

1. Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency and it remains the go-to leader of the space. As of this writing, the market capitalization of the world's top digital currency is more than $125 billion, with a price per coin of more than $7,305.

2. Ethereum

Ethereum, the digital token which prompted the rise of the initial coin offering (ICO), comes in second on our list of cryptocurrencies by market cap. It is significantly smaller than bitcoin; the current market cap is just shy of $50 billion, with a trading price of about $500 per token. There are just over 100.7 million ETH tokens in circulation as of this writing.

3. Ripple

The No. 3 slot goes to the much-hyped Ripple, with a total market capitalization of more than $19.8 billion. Unlike the top two digital currencies (as well as the one directly following it), the price of each XRP token is very small. As of this writing, it's just over 50 cents per token. On the other hand, the total number of XRP in circulation is quite high. There are over 39 billion tokens in circulation now.